Daylight
by TimeSeerStudios
Summary: This tale set in early medieval England follows a teenage boy by the name of Cameron Cromwell... When Turned into a vampire and driven to madness, he soon becomes a force to be reckoned with and a monster to be feared. Follow his short story as he discovers his true destiny... For better or for worse.
1. Daylight Nightmare

As far as teenage guys from the early middle ages go, Cameron Cromwell was pretty normal, and so was his family. That was to say, they were peasants, hardworking and poor and unnoticed. But Cameron was okay with that. It had been a good year for his family in 719 AD. They were prospering and Cameron had his best friend Melody Mason to hang out with when he had a free moment at home, and that was all that really mattered to him. The two had been pals for as long as he could remember. He couldn't imagine a life without her.

The only thing particularly unique about Cameron was his skill with a sword. His father had once been a traveling swordsman, and had taught him everything he knew. Cameron took to the art like a fish to water. Of course, being a peasant, he could never be a knight, but he didn't really want to be, either. Every knight he'd ever met had been exceptionally arrogant, and a few had even abused their power to take things from his family. He had no desire to be associated with THEM. He just thought it could come in handy to have skill with a weapon if he was ever in danger.

If only he'd known!

Then one night, everything changed. It all started that morning, when one of the front wheels for the Cromwell family's horse-drawn cart broke. It would be totally useless until the wheel was replaced. Naturally, it was Cameron who was given the task of finding a carpenter in nearby Georgetown who could make a new one to replace it.

"Good luck," said Melody, even giving Cameron a peck on the cheek before he left. "Try not to get lost!" There was a mischievous glitter in her blue eyes. Cameron smiled slightly.

"I think I'll be fine. After all, it's not THAT far. What could possibly happen?" Cameron would later regret saying that.

"Just be careful okay?" she added after a moment, "All sorts of weird stuff has been happening around there. People have been disappearing all over the place! I don't want you to vanish too." She grinned. "I'd hate to worry my parents by running off to hunt you down!" Cameron couldn't help a chuckle at that. That was how Melody was. She'd never been a very obedient girl, preferring to have "adventures" in the countryside, hating dresses, occasionally even wearing boy clothes when it was just the two of them, and often running off with him to play (without permission) when they were little. She was crazy, energetic, adventurous, and independent, and that was exactly why he liked her so much. Maybe even loved her.

Cameron departed for the town that morning, perhaps around 8, and arrived about noon, bringing nothing but a bag with food, water, measurements of the wheel, and money to pay for one to be made. It took a few hours, but finally he found a shop that would be willing to build a new wheel to his specifications for an acceptable price, and the haggling involved on GETTING that price took a while, too. By the time he was on the road back home with the news that the wheel would be done in about a week, it was almost sunset.

Then it happened. When he was on the road, in the dark, something came out of nowhere, something strange and humanoid and horribly, unnaturally strong. He caught a glimpse of a pale, handsome face, then it had hold of him, he tasted blood… And everything went black.

Cameron woke slowly. He felt awful, aching everywhere, and everything was dark and cramped. He had no idea where he was. All he knew was he was trapped, and he wanted OUT. He clawed at the ceiling, desperate. It tore away under his fingers, first fabric, then wood. Then dirt. He didn't stop to think about the fact that it shouldn't have been possible for him to rip apart wood with his bare hands, he just dug.

He didn't stop until he reached the surface, and crawled from his grave. Wait, grave? Cameron had no idea what was going on, and he couldn't think straight, something was wrong, different… He needed something, but it wasn't air. He felt like he was suffocating, but breathing didn't help. What was happening to him?!

"…Cameron?" He recognized the voice instantly. Melody. Even in the dark he could see her, standing there beside him, looking at him with an expression of surprise and confusion and worry and mild fear. "How..?! A-are you-" She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't get the chance. Before Cameron knew what he was doing, he was on her, pinning Melody against something hard and flat sticking up from the ground, his fangs in her throat. Everything seemed to fade away, everything but the blood, the liquid life flowing into him…

Then suddenly he snapped out of it. His front was blood-soaked, and Melody was limp in his arms. At first, he couldn't figure out what had happened. It was all a blur in his mind. Then he noticed his fangs. And saw that the thing he had pinned her against was his tombstone. And it all clicked.

"Melody..?" his voice was weak, shaking. "Melody..!" Horror gripped him. He felt at her torn throat. No pulse. "Melody!"

Melody was dead. And it was all his fault.

Cameron lightly set her down on the grass, though he was trembling. He had done this. What kind of person killed their best friend?! He was a monster. A total monster. A murderer and a monster.

He crawled away and cried. For Melody. For himself. And for his family.

Finally he made himself stop, stumbling off into the night. He had to go, to get away from here, to go somewhere, anywhere but this awful place. It didn't matter where, so long as it was somewhere else. He was still shaking, but the tears had stopped, though the mix of blood and tears still left faint reddish lines on his face. He was a mess, but he didn't care. After all, monsters weren't supposed to look nice.

Then he saw the sky starting to lighten in the east. Something about the sight filled him with dread. Suddenly someone else was there, a pale, lovely girl who seemed about his age, maybe a little older.

"You had best get inside," she said, glancing at the start of the sunrise. "You can stay at my home for the day." Cameron started to object, but something inside him, something purely instinctual, told him that she was right. He followed her to an old, ragged house. She led him inside and closed the door. All the windows had the curtains pulled, so it was quite dark, but somehow he could still see.

"I'm Elizabeth," the girl said, looking back to him. "But you can call me Liz. What's your name?"

"Cameron." He frowned. "Do… Do you know… What's happened to me?"

"You're a vampire." She grinned, and a pair of fangs, long and thin and white like bone needles, snapped out. Cameron flinched. "Like me."

"… A vampire?"

"Yes. A vampire. And…" Elizabeth gestured at the door. "You have to stay inside during the day. Sunlight burns our kind." Cameron felt as if his heart was made of lead. He could never go outside in the daytime again? Never feel the warm sunlight on his skin? Never watch another gorgeous red-orange sunrise without fear?

"Don't worry," the vampire girl said after a moment, as if reading his thoughts. "You'll get used to it." She glanced at a couple of old beds. "You'd better get some rest. You should get used to sleeping during the day. I know I'm going to bed." She flopped on one of the old beds. "Good day."

Cameron paused, then went to the other bed, curling up in it. Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing at all. He drifted off into an uncomfortable, dreamless sleep.


	2. Daylight Shadow

Cameron woke the next night to the sound of Elizabeth stirring.

"Hey," he said. "Good m- I mean night." She laughed.

"It takes some getting used to, I know." She paused a moment. "So, how did you get turned? Or do you know?"

"I was attacked," Cameron answered with a frown. "Until last night, I had no idea there was such a thing as a vampire. I don't even know how to hunt. I mean, that's what we do, right?" She nodded.

"I don't know how I was turned either. It was just the same for me. An attack, then I woke up in a coffin. It was about a week ago." She frowned. "That's why I'm staying close to the graveyard. It's to keep watch for other fledglings, like you. Newborn vampires don't know what's going on at all. I want to help." Cameron smiled.

"Thanks again for letting me stay here."

"No problem," Elizabeth replied, "And tonight, I'll get some blood for you. After all, you are a guest in my house."

"Thanks," Cameron said, surprised.

The vampire just smiled and walked out the door with a wave.

Later Cameron was startled by the sound of terrified screaming just outside. Alarmed, he turned to the door, and quickly found the source. Elizabeth had already returned, and was standing in the doorway. And clutched in her pale hands was a young girl, no older than 8. Cameron stared in shock, but Elizabeth just grinned.

"Here you are." Cameron was mortified. "Oh, come now. You're a vampire too, now. You're going to be hungry. Since you're not too experienced at hunting yet, I brought this." She gestured at the terrified girl. "She should be easy enough prey."

"No." Cameron's hands were clenched into fists, shaking. This girl reminded him too much of Melody. It was too much. Just too much. "Thanks for the thought, but no."

"Are you sure?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at him. "You MUST need blood by now."

"I'm sure." Cameron WAS hungry, but no way was he attacking an innocent little girl. There was just no way.

"Alright, if you're sure…" Elizabeth leaned down and sank her fangs into the girl's throat. Cameron stumbled backward, looking away, overwhelmed by shock and horror. He could still hear her screaming. Unable to take it a moment longer, he bolted past them out the door. Cameron didn't look back once, and he didn't stop running for a long, long time.

By the time Cameron stopped, he was exhausted, and the hunger had grown from a dull pang to a deep, gnawing emptiness in his core. Elizabeth had been right. He needed blood. But where was he going to get any? He couldn't just jump someone and kill them, could he? Then again, what did it matter if he did? What did he have left to lose? He had nothing. He had no one. All he had left was his own existence. And that was something he wouldn't mind losing. Maybe if he caused enough trouble he'd attract a vampire hunter to end his miserable life. Or did they even exist? But then again… Who cared?

Something broke inside of Cameron that night.

He found an old man, wandering the dark streets alone. Cameron didn't care who he was or where he was going or about anything at all other than that he had blood, and he needed it. With a furious animal howl he flung himself at him, sinking fangs into his throat.

Finished a minute or so later, he wiped the blood from his mouth on his sleeve and left. It was time for the monster to find a new lair. Finally he came upon an old house.

The house didn't look like much, but that was sort of the point. With its dilapidated front porch and crumbling walls, it was pretty obvious that the place was abandoned. Cameron stepped inside through the drooping remains of the doorway, walking over the door itself in the process, which lay on the ground outside like a grotesque rotting welcome mat.

It wasn't a big house, only having one large vacant room, which didn't bother Cameron. What DID bother Cameron was that the room wasn't TOTALLY vacant. A crude bed sat wedged in a corner, along with some old clothes. It was neat and fresh, like it had been recently used. Cameron wondered if some teenagers were using the place as a sort of clubhouse.

"Why hello there." The voice jolted Cameron to alertness, and he spun to look at the speaker. It was a young, ordinary-looking guy about his age, who was standing in the collapsing doorway, leaning against the broken hinges leisurely. Cameron didn't understand why he hadn't heard the boy coming. He looked perfectly normal, with his plain clothes and brown hair and eyes. Then he grinned, and Cameron could see the tips of his fangs.

The vampire began to walk toward him with strides as fluid as a cat's. Cameron didn't know what to do. He'd only met two other vampires, one of which being the mysterious creature that had Turned him, and the other being the friendly if insane fellow fledgling Elizabeth. This vampire seemed older and more confident, and not friendly in the least. No, actually, that wasn't true. The problem was that he seemed TOO friendly. So friendly that Cameron was sure he must be faking. He backed up a few steps nervously.

"Hey," said Cameron, hoping he sounded sincere, "I didn't know another vampire was staying here, I can find another place, and I won't bother you again-"

"You're a vampire too?" Cameron was amazed to find that his potential attacker had stopped in his tracks, an amazed look on his face.

"Yeah," said Cameron, letting his fangs unsheathe as proof.

"I was turned over a year ago," the vampire stated, "But I hadn't seen another vampire since until you." He paused for a moment. "Sorry about that, I thought you were human. You smell like blood, and I can't really tell the difference between vampires and humans yet anyway…"

"It's okay," replied Cameron, "Sorry for intruding on your home. I'll find another place to stay." He started toward the door, but the other vampire stopped him.

"You don't have to go," he said with a friendly smile. "It's a bit lonely here anyway. Besides, it'll be morning soon. I wouldn't want you to get fried."

"Oh, uh, thanks," said Cameron quickly.

"It's nothing… And, since we're going to be sharing a house, we might as well get to know each other. My name's Harry Spencer."

"I'm Cameron, Cameron Cromwell." Harry smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Cameron. I think we're going to be great friends."

"I think so too."

Over the next several nights, Cameron slowly became more and more violent, killing people every night… No one knew the culprit, but they all knew it must be a monster. Not even Harry knew it was none other than his new friend and roommate Cameron. He never would have guessed.

"Cameron," he finally said toward the end of the next week, "Have you heard about all those rogue killings?" Cameron blinked.

"Yes. What about them?"

"At the rate this new vampire is killing, he's going to attract shadowhunters."

"Shadowhunters?" Cameron had never heard of them.

"They usually hunt demons," Harry explained, "But they also hunt any other demon-related non-human things they come across. Including vampires. Especially ones that go around killing people."

"Don't all vampires kill people?" Harry stared at him.

"Don't tell me YOU are behind all this!" He sighed, exasperated. "Yes, it's possible to feed without killing. I generally hypnotize people so they don't remember it or make a fuss. For goodness sake, Cameron! TWENTY-FIVE people?! In a WEEK?!" Harry began to pace, agitated. "This has to stop. You can stay here still, I'm not going to kick you out. BUT. You have to learn to control yourself! I will teach you to hypnotize people. But no more killing."

"I'm sorry," said Cameron, frowning, "And I understand."

"Don't apologize to me," said Harry icily, "You SHOULD apologize to the people you killed for no reason. But you can't do that NOW, now can you?" He shook his head in frustration after a moment. "I'm sorry, that was harsh… But this… It's going to have consequences. You know this right?" Cameron nodded. "Good."

Harry sighed and flopped down on the bed. "I'm going to sleep. Your training starts tomorrow." Cameron nodded again dully and went to his own make-shift bed and went to sleep, hoping, no, PRAYING, that Harry was wrong.

But then again, praying doesn't really work for the damned, now does it?


End file.
